A SEMINAR REPORT

ON
Adsorption Of Various Heavy
Metal From Industrial Waste
Water By Low Cost Adsorbents
PREPARED BY:
ANKIT M. BHUVA
Enrollment No.: 130470730003
M.E. Chemical Engineering (2014-15)

GUIDED BY:
Prof. Williams J. Koshy
Lecturer in Chemical Engineering,
V.V.P. ENGINEERING COLLEGE, RAJKOT

SUBMITTED TO:
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING,
V.V.P. ENGINEERING COLLEGE,
RAJKOT

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr/Ms. Ankit Mansukhbhai Bhuva Enrollment No.

130470730001 Branch: Chemical Engineering, M.E. Semester 3rd has
satisfactorily completed the term work in the subject of SEMINAR (Subject
Code: 730001) within the four walls of the Institute.

Date of submission: - 19.11.2014

Guide Head of Department

Prof. Williams J. Koshy Prof. Dr. Piyush B. Vanjara
Lecturer in Chemical Engg.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This is the time to express my deep sense of gratitude to my college, VVP
Engineering College, Rajkot & Gujarat Technological University for providing me a
great opportunity to prepare this report for my seminar work.

I am humbly expressing thanks to my respected guide Prof. Williams J. Koshy

of Chemical dept., VVP Engineering College, Rajkot for his/her valuable time and
constant help give to me, from the concept stage to this stage.

I would like to thanks Head of Chemical Engineering Department, Prof. Dr.

Piyush B. Vanjara for his precious help & guidance who always bears and motivate me
with technical guidance throughout this semester period. Also I would like to thank to
the other respected faculties of Chemical Engineering Department.

Most importantly, I would like to thank my Family, for everything that they have
done for me throughout my life and the joy they have brought to me for just having their
support. Much of my success has been because of their love & encouragement.

Mr. Ankit M. Bhuva

(130470730003)
M.E (Chemical) 3rd semester

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ABSTRACT
The seminar you are about to read will introduce you to modern technique for the
Adsorption of various heavy metal from Industrial waste water by Low Cost Adsorbents.

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies. Water pollution occurs

when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate
treatment to remove harmful compounds.Water pollution affects plants and organisms
living in these bodies of water. In almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to
individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities.

The treatment of wastewaters to make them suitable for subsequent use requires
physical, chemical and biological processes. A number of technologies are available with
varying degree of success to control water pollution. Some of them are coagulation , foam
flotation , filtration , ion exchange , aerobic and anaerobic treatment , advanced oxidation
processes , solvent extraction, adsorption , electrolysis, microbial reduction , and
activated sludge . However, most of them require substantial financial input and their use
is restricted because of cost factors overriding the importance of pollution control.

The technical feasibility of various low-cost adsorbents for heavy metal removal
from contaminated water has been used in now a days. Instead of using commercial
activated carbon, researchers have worked on inexpensive materials, such as chitosan,
zeolites, and other adsorbents, which have high adsorption capacity and are locally
available. These adsorbents are suitable for inorganic effluent treatment containing the
metal ions.

It is important to note that the adsorption capacities of the adsorbents which is

used in this treatment is depending on the characteristics of the individual adsorbent, the
extent of chemical modifications, and the concentration of adsorbate.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................................................... II

ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................................... III

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................................... IV

LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................. VI

LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................................................. VII

1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 2

1.1 INTRODUCTION OF WASTE WATER POLLUTION ....................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
1.2 TYPES OF WATER POLLUTION ............................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
1.3 VARIOUS TYPE OF TREATMENT TECHNIQUE ............................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2 ELEMENTS OF PROCESS INTENSIFICATION ..................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.1 PROCESS-INTENSIFYING EQUIPMENT .................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.1.1 STATIC (MOTIONLESS) MIXERS ......................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.1.2 MIXER REACTOR (SMR) .................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.1.3 PACKING STRUCTURE ...................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.1.4 SUPER X-PACK .................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.1.5 MONOLITHIC CATALYSTS ................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.1.6 HEX REACTORS ................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.1.7 MICROREACTORS ............................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2 PROCESS-INTENSIFYING METHODS ....................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.1 MULTIFUNCTIONAL REACTORS ........................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.2 REACTIVE SEPARATIONS................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.3 REACTIVE EXTRACTION .................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.4 REACTIVE CRYSTALLIZATION ............................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.5 REACTIVE ABSORPTION .................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.6 CRYOGENIC DISTILLATIONS .............................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.7 CHROMATOGRAPHIC REACTORS ..................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.8 REACTIVE ADSORPTION.................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.9 MEMBRANE REACTORS .................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.10 FUEL CELLS ..................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.11 HYBRID SEPARATIONS .................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.12 MEMBRANE DISTILLATION ............................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

2.2.13 MEMBRANE CHROMATOGRAPHY .................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

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3 PROCESS INTENSIFICATION ADVANTAG ......................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.1 COSTS ................................................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

3.2 SAFETY .............................................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.3 TIME TO MARKET ............................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
3.4 COMPANY IMAGE ................................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4 SYNERGIES IN PROCESS INTENSIFICATION ..................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4.1 PROCESS SYNTHESIS............................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

4.2 MODELING & OPTIMIZATION ............................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.3 EXPERIMENTS..................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.4 DESIGN METHODS AND TOOLS ............................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5 CASE STUDY .................................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1 PROCESS INTENSIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN CONTINUOUS BIODIESEL PRODUCTION [14] .............. ERROR!
BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.1 NOVEL REACTORS ............................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.1.1 STATIC MIXERS ..................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.1.2 MICRO-CHANNEL REACTORS................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.1.3 OSCILLATORY FLOW REACTORS ........................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.1.4 CAVITATIONAL REACTORS .................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.1.5 ROTATING/SPINNING TUBE REACTORS ................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.1.6 MICROWAVE REACTORS ...................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.2 REACTION/SEPARATION COUPLED TECHNOLOGIES ........ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.2.1 MEMBRANE REACTORS ........................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.2.2 REACTIVE DISTILLATION ....................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.2.3 CENTRIFUGAL CONTACTORS ................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.3 SUMMARY ........................................................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.1.4 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.2 CATALYTIC CYCLIC DISTILLATION – A NOVEL PROCESS INTENSIFICATION APPROACH IN REACTIVE SEPARATIONSERROR!
BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.2.1 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

5.2.2 FUTURE IN PI .................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

REFERENCE .............................................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 16th century technology for retrieving gold from ore ........ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 2 Four and half centuries have passed, yet almost no fundamental differences can be seen
between the technology of 1556 and that of 2002. ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 3 DSM’s vision of process intensification. .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 4 Elements of Process Intensification .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 5 Image of Static Mixers ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 6 Image of Static Mixer Reactor ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 7 Image of Packing Structure.................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 8 Image of Super X-Pack ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 9 Height reduction of a distillation column claimed by Super X-Pack .. Error! Bookmark not
defined.

Figure 10 Image of Monolithic Catalysts ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 11 Image of HEX reactor ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 12 Image of Microreactor....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 13 Progress in size reduction of adsorption equipment ........ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 14 Process Intensification Advantages ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 15 Synergies in Process Intensification .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 16 (a) static mixer closed-loop system, and (b) internal structure of static mixers ...... Error!
Bookmark not defined.

Figure 17 Diagram of laminar flow reactor/separator ...................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 18 Representative configuration of a zigzag micro-channel reactor .... Error! Bookmark not
defined.

Figure 19 The configuration of oscillatory flow reactor .................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 20 Schematic of oscillatory flow reactor for biodiesel production ....... Error! Bookmark not
defined.

Figure 21 Picture of hydrodynamic cavitations ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

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Figure 22 Schematic of a biodiesel process using controlled flow cavitations Error! Bookmark not
defined.

Figure 23 A commercial SPR reactor for biodiesel production ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 24 Schematic of a spinning tube reactor ................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 25 Spinning Tube in a Tube (STT) system ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 26 Schematic of biodiesel production in a membrane reactor ............. Error! Bookmark not
defined.

Figure 27 FAME’s production by esterification with methanol in a reactive distillation column

........................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 28 Schematic of a centrifugal contactor ................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 29Working principle of cycling distillation using trays with sluice chambers ............... Error!
Bookmark not defined.

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Conventional Process v/s Process Intensification ................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Table 2 Comparison of various PI reactors and PI methods ............. Error! Bookmark not defined.

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 CHAPTER - 1
INTRODUCTION

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction of waste water pollution

Water is a source of life and energy, although millions of people , worldwide are
suffering with the shortage of fresh and clean drinking water. Rapid pace of
industrialization, population expansion, and unplanned urbanization have largely
contributed to the severe water pollution and surrounding soils.
Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. It is vital for all known forms of life. On
Earth, 96.5% of the planet's water is found in seas and oceans, 1.7% in groundwater,
1.7% in glaciers and the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland, a small fraction in other
large water bodies, and 0.001% in the air as vapor, clouds (formed of solid and liquid
water particles suspended in air), and precipitation. Only 2.5% of the Earth's water
is freshwater, and 98.8% of that water is in ice and groundwater. Less than 0.3% of all
freshwater is in rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere, and an even smaller amount of the
Earth's freshwater (0.003%) is contained within biological bodies and manufactured
products.
The main sources of water pollution can be attributed to discharge of untreated
sanitary and toxic industrial wastes, dumping of industrial effluent,and runoff from
agricultural fields.
The presence of cupper, zinc, cadmium, lead, mercury, iron, nickel and others
metals, has a potentially damaging effect on human physiology and other biological
systems when the tolerance levels are exceeded. In recent years, the need for safe and
economical methods for the elimination of heavy metals from contaminated waters has
necessitated research Low cost agricultural waste by-products.
Water pollution is a major global problem which requires ongoing evaluation and
revision of water resource policy at all levels (international down to individual aquifers
and wells). It has been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and
diseases, and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily. An
estimated of 580 people in India die of water pollution related illness every day.
Around 90% the water in the cities of China is polluted, and as of 2007, half a
billion Chinese had no access to safe drinking water. In addition to the acute problems of
water pollution in developing countries, continue to struggle with pollution problems as

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well. In the most recent national report on water quality in the United States, 45 percent
of assessed stream miles, 47% of assessed lake acres, and 32 percent of assessed bays and
estuarine square miles were classified as polluted. The head of Chinas national
development agency in 2007 said 1/4th the length of China's seven main rivers were so
poisoned the water harmed the skin.
Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired
by anthropogenic contaminants and either does not support a human use, such as drinking
water, or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic
communities, such as fish. Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms,
and earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of
water.

1.2 Type of water pollution

1. Nutrients pollution
Some wastewater, fertilizers and sewage contain high levels of nutrients. If they end up in
water bodies, they encourage algae and weed growth in the water. This will make the
water undrinkable, and even clog filters. Too much algae will also use up all the oxygen
in the water, and other water organisms in the water will die out of oxygen starvation.

2. Surface water pollution

Surface water includes natural water found on the earth's surface, like rivers, lakes,
lagoons and oceans. Hazardous substances coming into contact with this surface water,
dissolving or mixing physically with the water can be called surface water pollution.

3. Oxygen Depleting
Water bodies have micro-organisms. These include aerobic and anaerobic organisms.
When to much biodegradable matter (things that easily decay) end up in water, it
encourages more microorganism growth, and they use up more oxygen in the water. If
oxygen is depleted, aerobic organisms die, and anaerobic organism grow more to produce
harmful toxins such as ammonia and sulfides.

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4. Ground water pollution

When humans apply pesticides and chemicals to soils, they are washed deep into the
ground by rain water. This gets to underground water, causing pollution underground.
This means when we dig wells and bore holes to get water from underground, it needs to
be checked for ground water pollution.

5. Microbiological
In many communities in the world, people drink untreated water (straight from a river or
stream). Sometimes there is natural pollution caused by micro-organisms like viruses,
bacteria and protozoa. This natural pollution can cause fishes and other water life to die.
They can also cause serious illness to humans who drink from such waters.

6. Suspended Matter
Some pollutants (substances, particles and chemicals) do not easily dissolve in water.
This kind of material is called particulate matter. Some suspended pollutants later settle
under the water body. This can harm and even kill aquatic life that live at the floor of
water bodies.

7. Chemical Water Pollution

Many industries and farmers work with chemicals that end up in water. This is common
with Point-source Pollution. These include chemicals that are used to control weeds,
insects and pests. Metals and solvents from industries can pollute water bodies. These are
poisonous to many forms of aquatic life and may slow their development, make them
infertile and kill them.

8. Oil Spillage
Oil spills usually have only a localized effect on wildlife but can spread for miles. The oil
can cause the death to many fish and get stuck to the feathers of seabirds causing them to
lose their ability to fly.

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1.3 Various type of treatment techniques

Membrane photoreactor: In membrane photoreactor, immobilized photocatalytic

powders in the form of slurry combine with membrane filtration where membrane is used
as separating layer to retain the catalyst. Here the pollutants must diffuse through the
membrane and react with the photocatalytic surface. The diffusion process is relatively
slow and it is rate determining step when the reactant concentration is low but rate
limiting step when the concentration of pollutants is high. To solve this problem a recent
strategy is developed as to make nanometer pores in nanomembrane performing
selectively to produce an oxidized permeate stream. Membrane photoreactor produces
OH. radicals both in outer and inner side of membrane while reactor is permitting in one
pass. The gas phase photocatalytic oxidation of trichlororthylene using nano membrane
structure of TiO2 and TiO2- zeolite hybrid membrane is an efficient system. Porous TiO2
membrane prepared by sol-gel method is applied for the gas phase reaction of methanol
and ethanol.

Physical adsorption: Heterogeneous photocatalytic processes are very effective but there
are some limitations such as the pollutants are frequently present in very low
concentration. Organic matter present in water can block the catalytic active site and
reduce the degradation capacity. Hence the photocatalytic process is coupled with
physical adsorption process. In this a suitable adsorbent such as silica, alumina, zeolite,
clay or active-ted carbon (AC) selectively adsorbs the toxic pollutants without extracting
the natural compounds present in water. Once the adsorbent loses its capacity of
removing the pollutants, it is mixed with TiO2 powder slurry and the regenerated
adsorbent can be reused for further adsorption cycles. In another approach fix the TiO2
catalyst on the surface of adsorbent like AC which may act synergistically.

Membrane treatment: Generally TiO2 catalyst is applied in the form of powder

suspended in slurry but there are difficulties during recovery of catalyst after treatment in
large scale approach. This problem is solved by immobilizing the catalyst on an inert
surface such as glass, quartz, concrete or ceramics. During production TiO2 catalyst

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generates very fine powder for example; P25 Degussa has particle size 21nm which is
very difficult to recover by classic sedimentation, flotation and membrane filtration.
Hence membrane filter reactor with nano structured TiO2- silica gel for treatment is used.
Microfilter allows separating TiO2 fine particle easily recovering and reusing it.

Biological treatment: A biological method is the most common and cheapest process
used for wastewater treatment. Coupling of biological and photocatalytic methods
attracted the attentions of many researchers in recent times. This combination can be used
to reduce the biorecalcitrance or increase the tolerance level of bacteria. Therefore, photo-
catalytic pretreatment is needed to modify the structure of the pollutants by transforming
them into non- toxic and easily biodegradable intermediates fo further biological
treatment. TiO2 supported on glass ring in photocatalytic reactor and bacteria supported
on biolite in the biological part was studied.
The advantage of this system is that catalyst can be reused and pH of the reactor is
6.0 to 6.5 which is tolerable to biomass. TiO2 photocatalytic pretreatment coupled with
activated sludge process is the best example of biological treatment process.
Ozonation: Ozone is powerful oxidizing agent (E0=2.08 V) and can react directly to
organic components in the absence of light. Ozone can react indirectly through a fast and
non selective reaction by the HO. free radical generated by its decomposition as per
following equation :
2 O3 + 2 H2O 2 HO. + O2 + 2HO2
Ozonation combining with H2O2 or with TiO2/H2O2 increases the efficiency of the
decomposition of groundwater contaminants and can be used for soil remediation. Also
addition of H2O2 with ozone system called pre ozone, combines the direct and indirect
ozone oxidation of organic compound. H2O2 initiates ozone decomposition by electron
transfer through a reaction as:
H2O2 + O3 HO. + O2 + HO2

The process is expensive but fast and can treat organic pollutants at very low
concentrations at pH 7 to 8.
Irradiation of ozone in water with near-UV light (>300nm) produce H2O2 as :
O3 + H2O + hv H2O2 + O2

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In presence of TiO2, ozone acts as strong electrophonic agent to generate O3 .- radicals

which are further converted to strong oxidizing agent HO. radicals69. There are different
mechanisms to interact O3 with TiO2, such as: (1) physical adsorption, (2) formation of
weak hydrogen bonds with surface hydroxyl groups of catalyst and (3) dissociation
adsorption on strong surface Lewis acid sites leading to decomposition of O3 to form O2
molecules that remain attached to the surface active site. In presence of TiO2 and near
UV radiation, adsorbed ozone acts as a very strong electrophilic agent generating an
ozonide radical (O3.-) which produces HO. radicals in adsorption layer.
The main limitation of ozone is slow mineralization of organic compounds. Hence
for complete mineralization and degradation of intermediate using ozone it is coupled
with hydrogen peroxide and /or radiation. Addition of hydrogen peroxide to ozonation
system improves the treatment process.

Photo- Fenton reaction: It is a dark process whose application for destroying toxic
organic compounds began in 196055. In the absence of light, the most accepted
mechanism of H2O2 decomposition by Fe2+ ions involves the production of HO.
radicals. The Photo Fenton’s reagent is a mixture of ferrous iron and hydrogen peroxide
and known as powerful oxidant for decomposition of organic contaminants.
Fe2+aq + H2O2 →Fe3+aq. + OH- + HO.
Fe2+ + HO.→ Fe3+ + OH-
HO. + RH →HO2 + R.
R. + Fe3+→ R+ + Fe2+
Fenton reaction is strongly increased in Photo Fenton process (H2O2/Fe2+/UV). The
factor enhancing the rate of reaction is the recycling of iron during process. The Fe2+
ions are recycled and newly generated Fe2+ reacts with H2O2 to give HO. radicals where
iron acts as catalyst and reaction is referred to as Photo Fenton reaction.

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CHAPTER - 2
WHAT IS ADSORPTION
PROCESS

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2.1 Defination
Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, or molecules from a gas, liquid, or
dissolved solid to a surface. This process creates a film of the adsorbate on the surface of
the adsorbent. This process differs from absorption, in which a fluid permeates or
is dissolved by a liquid or solid (the absorbent). Adsorption is a surface-based process
while absorption involves the whole volume of the material.
The term sorption encompasses both processes, while desorption is the reverse of it.
Adsorption is a surface phenomenon. Adsorption is a surface-based process while
absorption involves the whole volume of the material.

Adsorbents are used usually in the form of spherical pellets, rods, moldings, or
monoliths with a hydrodynamic radius between 0.25 and 5 mm. They must have
high abrasion resistance, high thermal stability and small pore diameters, which results in
higher exposed surface area and hence high capacity for adsorption.

Adsorption is present in many natural, physical, biological, and chemical systems,

and is widely used in industrial applications such as activated charcoal, capturing and
using waste heat to provide cold water for air conditioning and other process
requirements, synthetic resins, increase storage capacity of carbide-derived carbons,
and water purification.

Adsorption, ion exchange, and chromatography are sorption processes in which

certain adsorbates are selectively transferred from the fluid phase to the surface of
insoluble, rigid particles suspended in a vessel or packed in a column.

At the surface of the solids, there are unbalanced forces of attraction which are
responsible for adsorption. In cases where the adsorption is due to weak van der Waals

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forces, it is called physical adsorption. On the other hand, there may be a chemical
bonding between adsorbent and adsorbate molecule and such type of adsorption is
referred as chemisorption.

2.2 Why adsorption process

Due to the discharge of large amounts of metal-contaminated wastewater,

industries bearing heavy metals, such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, As, Pb, and Zn, are the most
hazardous among the chemical-intensive industries. Because of their high solubility in the
aquatic environments, heavy metals can be absorbed by living organisms. Once they enter
the food chain, large concentrations of heavy metals may accumulate in the human body.
If the metals are ingested beyond the permitted concentration, they can cause serious
health disorders.
Therefore, it is necessary to treat metal contaminated wastewater prior to
its discharge to the environment. Heavy metal removal from inorganic effluent can be
achieved by conventional treatment processes such as chemical precipitation, ion
exchange, and electrochemical removal. These processes have significant disadvantages,
which are, for instance, incomplete removal, high-energy requirements, and production of
toxic sludge.
Recently, numerous approaches have been studied for the development of cheaper
and more effective technologies, both to decrease the amount of wastewater produced and
to improve the quality of the treated effluent. Adsorption has become one of the
alternative treatments, in recent years, the search for low-cost adsorbents that have metal-
binding capacities has intensified.

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2.3 Conventional process for metal removal

The conventional processes for removing heavy metals from wastewater include
many processes such as chemical precipitation, flotation, adsorption, ion exchange, and
electrochemical deposition. Chemical precipitation is the most widely used for heavy
metal removal from inorganic effluent. The conceptual mechanism of heavy metal
removal by chemical precipitation is presented in Eq.(1)

M2þ þ 2ðOHÞ_ $ MðOHÞ2# ð1Þ

where M2+ and OH_ represent the dissolved metal ions and the precipitant, respectively,
while M(OH)2 is the insoluble metal hydroxide. Adjustment of pH to the basic conditions
(pH 9–11) is the major parameter that significantly improves heavy metal removal by
chemical precipitation (fig.-1). Lime and limestone are the most commonly employed
precipitant agents due to their availability and low-cost in most countries Lime
precipitation can be employed to effectively treat inorganic effluent with a metal
concentration of higher than 1000 mg/L.
Other advantages of using lime precipitation include the simplicity of the
process, inexpensive equipment requirement, and convenient and safe operations.
However, chemical precipitation requires a large amount of chemicals to reduce metals to
an acceptable level for discharge. Other drawbacks are its excessive production that
requires further treatment, slow metal precipitation, poor settling, the aggregation of
metal precipitates, and the long-term environmental impacts of sludge disposal.
Ion exchange is another method used successfully in the industry for the
removal of heavy metals from effluent. An ion exchanger is a solid capable of exchanging
either cations or anions from the surrounding materials. Commonly used matrices for ion
exchange are synthetic organic ion exchange resins.
The disadvantage of this method is that it cannot handle concentrated metal
solution as the matrix gets easily fouled by organics and other solids in the wastewater.
Moreover ion exchange is non selective and is highly sensitive to the pH of the solution.
Electrolytic recovery or electro-winning is one of the many technologies used to remove

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metals from process water streams. This process uses electricity to pass a current through
an aqueous metal-bearing solution containing a cathode plate and an insoluble anode.
Positively charged metallic ions cling to the negatively charged cathodes leaving behind a
metal deposit that is strippable and recoverable.

A noticeable disadvantage was that corrosion could become a significant limiting

factor, where electrodes would frequently have to be replaced .

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2.4 Commercial Adsorbent

A number of materials have been extensively investigated as adsorbents in water

pollution control. Some of the important ones include silica gel, activated alumina,
zeolites and activated carbon, etc.

1. Silica gel
Silica gels are classified into three types: regular, intermediate and low density
gels. Regular density silica gel is prepared in an acid medium and shows high surface area
(e.g. 750m2/g). Intermediate and low density silica gels have low surface areas (300–350
and 100–200m2/g, respectively). The gel is considered a good adsorbent and is used in
many industries. Modified forms of silica have also been widely explored for the removal
of different pollutants.

2. Activated alumina
The activated alumina comprises a series of nonequilibrium forms of partially
hydroxylated alumina oxide, Al2O3. In general, as a hydrous alumina precursor is heated,
hydroxyl groups are driven off leaving a porous solid structure of activated alumina. It is
also used to remove water from organic liquids including gasoline, kerosene, oils,
aromatic hydrocarbons and many chlorinated hydrocarbons, having the surface area
ranging from 200 to 300m2/g.

3. Zeolites
Zeolites are aluminosilicates with Si/Al ratios between 1 and infinity. There are 40
natural and over 100 synthetic zeolites. They are also considered as selective adsorbents.
Zeolites-based materials are extremely versatile and their main use include detergent
manufacture, ion-exchange resins (i.e. water softeners), catalytic applications in the
petroleum industry, separation process (i.e. molecular sieves) and as an adsorbent for
water, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. Various zeolites have been employed for the
removal of pollutants.

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4. Activated carbon
Activated carbon has undoubtedly been the most popular and widely used
adsorbent in wastewater treatment throughout the world. Charcoal, the forerunner of
modern activated carbon has been recognized as the oldest adsorbent known in
wastewater treatment. Activated carbon is produced by a process consisting of raw
material dehydration and carbonization followed by activation.
The product obtained is known as activated carbon and generally has a very porous
structure with a large surface area ranging from 600 to 2000m2/g.
Activated carbon has been found to be a versatile adsorbent, which can remove diverse
types of pollutants such as metal ions , anions dyes , phenols , detergents , pesticides ,
humic substances , chlorinated hydrocarbons and many other chemicals and organisms.

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2.5 disadvantage of conventional process

 Sludge generation
 Low selectivity
 High operational cost
 High energy consumption
 Limited application
 Long duration time

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CHAPTER – 3
LOLW COST
ADSORPTION

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Introduction
Since its first introduction for heavy metal removal, activated carbon has
undoubtedly been the most popular and widely used adsorbent in wastewater treatment
applications throughout the world. In spite of its prolific use, activated carbon remains an
expensive material since higher the quality of activated carbon, the greater its cost.
Activated carbon also requires complexing agents to improve its removal performance for
inorganic matters.Therefore, this situation makes it no longer attractive to be widely used
in small-scale industries because of cost inefficiency.
Due to the problems mentioned previously, research interest into the production of
alternative adsorbents to replace the costly activated carbon has intensified in recent
years. Attention has been focused on the various adsorbents, which have metal-binding
capacities and are able to remove unwanted heavy metals from contaminated water at low
cost. Because of their low cost and local availability, natural materials such as chitosan,
zeolites, clay, or certain waste products from industrial operations such as fly ash, coal,
and oxides are classified as low-cost adsorbents.
Chitosan has received considerable interest for heavy metals removal due to its
excellent metal-binding capacities and low cost as compared to activated carbon. In Asian
countries such as Thailand, Japan, and China, fishery wastes such as shrimp, lobster, and
crab shells have been developed into one of the promising options to produce chitosan.
These wastes could be obtained for free from local fishery industries. Since such wastes
are abundantly available, chitosan may be produced at low cost. Consequently, chitosan
offers a lot of promising benefits for wastewater treatment applications today.
Natural zeolites also gained a significant interest among scientist, mainly due to
their valuable properties such as ion exchange capability. Large deposits of natural
zeolites in many countries such as Greece, UK, Italy,Mexico, Iran, and Jordan, provide
local industries some promising benefits such as cost efficiency since they are able to
treat wastewater contaminated with heavy metal at low cost.
Clay is one of potential alternatives to activated carbon as well. Similar to
zeolites, clay minerals are also important inorganic components in soil. Their sorption
capabilities come from their high surface area and exchange capacities. The negative
charge on the structure of clay minerals gives clay the capability to attract metal ions. The
USA and the former Republics of Soviet Union such as Lithuania, Georgia, and
Kazakhstan are well known for their large deposits of natural clay minerals.
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Industrialwaste is also one of the potentially low-cost adsorbent for heavy metal
removal. It requires little processing to increase its sorptive capacity. Generally industrial
wastes are generated as by-products. Since these materials are locally available in large
quantities, they are inexpensive. In India, various types of industrial wastes such as waste
slurry, lignin, iron(III) hydroxide, and red mud, have been explored for their technical
feasibility to remove heavy metals from contaminated water.
Low rank coal, such as lignite, is capable of having ion exchange with heavy
metals due to its carboxylic acid and phenolic hydroxyl functional groups. These
materials exist as large deposits in many countries, notably Australia and India.
Other low-cost adsorbents, such as agriculturalwastes, have been studied less
extensively due to their local availability. Although many research works have been done
recently to find the potential of using various alternative adsorbents, so far no efforts have
been made to obtain a comparative overview of all adsorbents mentioned previously in
terms of their removal performance, adsorption capacity, and cost effectiveness.
An overview of some low-cost adsorbents is presented in this report and their
removal performance is compared. Adsorbents that stand out for high removal
efficiencies and adsorption capacities are compared with the activated carbon.

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3.1. VARIOUS TYPE OF LOW COST ADSORBENTS

1) Agricultural wastes :-
tea waste , hazelnut shells , peanut hull , rice hull, pinus bark, apple
waste, clay, modified bark, wool fibers, sugar beat pulp, wheat bran,
tobacco bark, etc.

2) Industrial waste:-
waste slurry, iron hydroxide, lignin, fly ash, sawdust, peat mass,
zeolites, chitosan, resin, etc

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1) Chitosan=
Among various biosorbents, chitin is the second most abundant natural biopolymers
after cellulose. However, more important than chitin is chitosan, which has a molecular
structure similar to cellulose. Presently, chitosan is attracting an increasing amount of
research interest, as it is an effective scavenger for heavy metals.
Chitosan is produced by alkaline N-deacetylation of chitin, which is widely found in
the exoskeleton of shellfish and crustaceans. It was estimated that chitosan could be
produced from fish and crustaceans at a market price of US$ 15.43/kg.
In 1988, the utilization of chitosan for cadmium removal was intensively investigated.
It was demonstrated that an adsorption capacity of 5.93 mg of Cd2+/g of chitosan was
achieved at a pH range of 4.0–8.3 and that the presence of ethylene diamine tetra acetic
acid (EDTA) significantly decreased the cadmium removal by chitosan since EDTA, a
stronger chelating agent than chitosan, suppressed the metal uptake by chitosan.

It was found that noncrosslinked chitosan has potential to adsorb 30 mg more of

Cr6+/g of chitosan. This is consistent with the fact that cross-linking reduces the
adsorption capacities of chitosan, but this loss of capacity may be necessary to ensure the
stability of chitosan.
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2) Zeolites
Basically zeolites are a naturally occurring crystalline aluminosilicates consisting
of a framework of tetrahedral molecules, linked with each other by shared oxygen atoms.
During 1970s, natural zeolites gained a significant interest among scientists due to their
ion-exchange capability to preferentially remove unwanted heavy metals such as
strontium and cesium.
This unique property makes zeolites favorable for wastewater treatment.
The price of zeolites itself is considered very cheap about US$ 0.03–0.12/kg, depending
on the quality of the zeolites itself.
Zeolites consist of a wide variety of species such as clinoptilolite and chabazite.
The selectivity of the series of the heavy metals studied was
determined to be as follows:
Pb2+> Cd2+> Cu2+> Co2+> Cr3+> Zn2+> Ni2+> Hg2+
In a further study, the removal performance of clinoptilolite and chabazite was compared.
The two zeolites were evaluated with respect to their performance for treating effluents
contaminated with Pb2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, and Co2+.

It was reported that both the zeolites exhibited 100% removal efficiency at the
metal concentration of 10 mg/l. Itwas also found that clinoptilolite and chabazite
exhibited different selectivity for all metals studied except Pb2+, for which both
performed exceptionally well.

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3) Clay

It is widely known that there are three basic species of clay: smectites (such as
montmorillonite), kaolinite, and micas; out of which montmorillonite has the highest
cation exchange capacity and that its current market price (about US$ 0.04–0.12/kg) is
considered to be 20 times cheaper than that of activated carbon . Therefore, a number of
studies have been conducted using clays, mainly montmorillonite, to show their
effectiveness for removing metal ions such as Zn2+, Pb2+, and Al3+ from aqueous
solutions.

The removal of zinc from wastewater using China clay, which mainly consists of
aluminosilicates, Another material from clay minerals to adsorb metal is bentonite, which
mainly consists of clay, silt, and sand. This material is highly valued for its tendency to
absorb water in the interlayer sites.
The adsorption of Cd2+ and Zn2+ from aqueous solution was investigated. using
natural bentonite . It was reported that the Cd2+ are adsorbed two times more than Zn2+
due to the fact that Cd2+ have less polarizing effects to the surface charge of bentonite
than zinc ions.

4) Peat moss
Peat moss, a complex soil material containing lignin and cellulose as major
constituents, is a natural substance widely available and abundant, not only in Europe
(British and Ireland), but also in the US. Peat moss has a large surface area (>200m2/g)
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and is highly porous so that it can be used to bind heavy metals. Peat moss is a relatively
inexpensive material and commercially sold at US$ 0.023/kg in the US.

Eutrophic peat is poor in cellulose, but rich in humic substances. Oligotropic peat
is a sphagnum one, which is more acidic than eutrophic peat and contains more organic
matter. Both peats contain about 85% of humic acid and 15% of fulvic acid.
peat moss is a good adsorbent for all metals. It is widely known that peat moss
exhibited a high CEC and complexities towards metals due to the presence of carboxylic,
phenolic, and hydroxylic functional groups.

5) Fly ash
Fly ash, an industrial solid waste of thermal power plants located in India, is one of
the cheapest adsorbents having excellent removal capabilities for heavy metals such as
copper ions . It was reported that an adsorption capacity of 1.39 mg of Cu2+/g was
achieved by fly ash at pH of 8.0.
In 1987, research on the adsorption of mercury using fly ash was carried out . It
was reported that the maximum adsorption capacity of 2.82 mg of Hg2+/g took place at a
pH range of 3.5–4.5 and that adsorption followed the Freundlich model.

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It is also known from various studies that fly ash could be easily solidified after
the heavy metals are adsorbed. However, since it also contains heavy metals, the
possibility of leaching should be considered and evaluated.

6) Coal
In 1984, the removal of Cd2+ using Giridih coal (GC) was intensively investigated.
It was reported that an adsorption capacity of 0.91 mg of Cd2+/g GC was achieved. It
was also found that sorption followed Freundlich isotherm and that it decreased beyond
pH 10 due to the formation of soluble hydroxy complexes.

A similar study for Hg2+ sorption using Giridih bituminous coal (GBC) was also
conducted. It was noted that chemical pretreatment for bituminous coal with nitric acid
significantly enhanced mercury sorption to a level higher than that exhibited by activated
carbon in terms of initial rate of sorption and adsorption capacity.
It was also reported that an adsorption capacity of 10 mg of Hg2+/g was observed
at a pH range of 7.0–8.5. It was found that the sorption reaction involves a rapid
interaction between Hg2+ and active sites on the external surface of coal.

7) Natural oxide
In 1985, a study on the use of aluminium oxide to remove Cr6+ from aqueous waste
was conducted . It was reported that the ultimate adsorption capacity of 11.7 mg of
Cr6+/g alumina was observed at pH of 4.0. It is important to note that the adsorptive
capacity of alumina significantly reduced in the presence of CN− anions. It can be

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explained due to the fact that cyanide has a strong anionic influence upon the sorption
characteristics of alumina.
Therefore, CN− anions are competitively adsorbed covering the surface sites of
alumina, which in turn prevent the Cr6+ to be adsorbed on the internal surface of
adsorbent.

A further study was conducted using iron oxide coated with sand to remove Cr6+.
It was reported that this adsorbent was found to be effective for removing metal from
solution and that about 99% of 0.038mM Cr6+ removal was achieved consistently.
The use of manganese oxide, (cost about US$ 0.05/kg), for removing arsenic
compounds from groundwaterwas demonstrated . Removal efficiency of almost 100%was
reported for both As3+ and As5+ at a pH range of 2.0–8.0. It was also found that the
presence of bivalent cations such as Ni2+, Co2+, and Mg2+ in ground water enhances the
adsorption capacity of manganese oxide due to the fact that these co-ions provide a
framework to which the metal ions can be affixed by the surface of adsorbent.

8) Industrial waste
Iron(III) hydroxide waste is one of waste material from fertilizer industries. It has
been extensively investigated for removing Cr6+ from wastewater.
Waste slurry is also one of the industrial by-products generated in fertilizer plant
showing good sorptive capacities. In 1989, the use of waste slurry to remove Cu2+, Cr6+,
Hg2+, and Pb2+ from aqueous solution was investigated.
The role of sawdust, collected from a timber working shop, for copper removal was
evaluated . It was reported that an adsorption capacity of 13.80 mg of Cu2+/g sawdust
was achieved. It was suggested that sawdust is a good adsorbent for copper removal.
The use of bagasse fly ash, an industrial waste generated in the sugar industry, to
remove Cr6+ from electroplating wastewater was investigated.

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The usage of activated red mud to adsorb hexavalent chromium from aqueous
solution was carried out . Red mud, a by-product of the aluminum industry, is composed
mainly of the particles of silica, aluminium, iron, and titanium oxide. It was found that an
adsorption capacity of 1.6 mg of Cr6+/g red mud was achieved at pH of 5.2.

9) Miscellaneous adsorbents
Other low-cost adsorbents have been studied less extensively such as xanthate, rice
husk carbon (RHC), and coconut shell.
Xanthate is one of the effective low-cost adsorbents. It is a group of sulfur-bearing
compounds, which have a high affinity for heavy metals and formed when an organic
hydroxyl-containing substrate reacts with carbon disulfide.

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The use ofRHCfor removing Cr6+ was also demonstrated . The activated
carbonwas derived from rice husk using carbonization with sulfuric acid. The maximum
adsorption capacity of RHC was found to be 45.6 mg of Cr6+/g at pH 2.5.
coconut shell-based activated carbon could be used for Cr6+ removal. It was
shown that optimum chromium removal was achieved at pH < 7.0. It was also found that
removal efficiency increases with a decrease in chromium concentration. 2002, the
potential of Parthenium, an Indian agriculturalwaste, for removing Ni2+ from aqueous
solution was also investigated.
The use of spheroidal cellulose to remove chromium was also conducted in China.
Cellulose is the most abundant among renewable and natural polymers and it has three
reactive hydroxyl groups. The adsorption capacity of spheroidal cellulose was found to be
73.46 mg of Cr6+/g at pH of 6.0.
The use of diatomite to remove Cr6+ from aqueous solution was demonstrated as
well. Microemulsions treated diatomite are quite efficient in removal process of metallic
ions.and adsorption capacity of 1.68 mg of Cr6+/g diatomite was achieved at pH of 2.95.

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Chapter-4
Case study

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Experimental works

1) Fe removal by different weights of absorbents :

The effect of the amount of adsorbent on the removal of Fe ions by rice husk is
depicted in Table for varied adsorbent doses of 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mg/l. Fe removal
using rice husk increased from 68.59% to 99.25% i.e. with the increase of the
amount of absorbent concentration , while Fe removal using fly Ash varied from 46.18%
to 86.757%.

2) Pb removal by different weights of absorbents

The effect of the amount of adsorbent on the removal of Pb ions by rice husk is
depicted in Table for varied adsorbent doses of 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mg/l. Pb removal
with rice husk increased from 22.22% to 87.17% i.e. with the increase of the amount of
absorbent concentration, while the Pb removal using fly Ash varied from 21.79% to
76.06%.

3) Cd removal by different weights of absorbents :

The effect of the amount of adsorbent on the removal of Cd ions by rice husk is
depicted in Table for varied adsorbentdoses of 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mg/l. Cd removal
using rice husk increased from 26.04% to 67.917% i.e. with the increase of the amount of

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absorbent concentration, while the Cd removal using fly Ash varied from 25.21% to
73.54%.

4) Cu removal by different weights of absorbents :

The effect of the amount of adsorbent on the removal of Cu ions by rice husk is depicted
in Table for varied adsorbent doses of 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mg/l. Cu removal using rice
husk increased from 24.49% to 98.177% i.e. with the increase of the amount of absorbent
concentration , while Cu removal using fly Ash varied from 37.38% to 98.545%.

Ni removal by different weights of absorbents :

The effect of the amount of adsorbent on the removal of Ni ions by rice husk is
depicted in Table for varied adsorbent doses of 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mg/l. Ni removal
using rice husk increased from 94.885% to 96.954% i.e. with the increase of the amount
of absorbent concentration , while Ni removal using fly Ash varied from 94.540% to
96.034%.

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Removal efficiency of various heavy metals using rice

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Chapter 5
Result and conclusion

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Comparison of commercial activated with low cost adsorbents

Fig. illustrates the adsorption capacity of some outstanding adsorbents mentioned
in the above study. It is evident from literature survey and Fig. that some low-cost
adsorbents such as chitosan, zeolites, waste slurry, and lignin have demonstrated
outstanding removal capabilities for heavy metals, which is far better than commercial
activated carbon. Most been effectively removed from highly diluted solutions using
chitosan. Even for Cr6+, Hg2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ removal, chitosan performs significantly
better than any types of commercial activated carbon (CAC) in terms of metal-loading
capacity. However, chitosan is considered as the most expensive alternative adsorbent
since its market price is nearly comparable to that of CAC. Recently market price of
chitosan is US$ 16/kg and that of CAC (depending on its grade and quality) is about US$
20.0–22.0/kg.

Clinoptilolite, one of abundant natural zeolites species, is a good low-cost adsorbent for
cadmium and lead removal. Nevertheless, chabazites has better cation exchange capacity than clinoptilolite.
Both Pb2+ and Cd2+ are adsorbed by chabazites nearly two times more than those by clinoptilolite. Although
the zeolites’ current commercial price (less than US$ 1.0/kg) is now considered nearly 20 times cheaper, the
adsorption capacity of chabazites for Cd2+ is comparable to that of CAC. In fact, its adsorption capacity for
Pb2+ is four times higher than that of CAC type HD 400.

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Waste slurry is another alternative adsorbent that is able to remove Cr6+, Pb2+,
and Hg2+ effectively from aqueous solutions at low cost. As for Cr6+ removal, the
adsorption capacity of waste slurry is the highest among other low-cost adsorbents and is
nearly four times higher than that of CAC type Filtrasorb 400. In fact, its adsorption
capacity for Pb2+ and Hg2+ is more than 20 and 10 times higher than that of any type of
CAC, respectively. However, there is no available information for the commercial price
of waste slurry as it can be obtained for free or at inexpensive cost from fertilizer plants.

Last but not the least, lignin is considered as the best low-cost adsorbent for lead
and zinc removal. Lignin is able to remove both the ions effectively under temperatures
ranging from 30 to 40 ◦C. It adsorbs Pb2+ nearly two times higher than waste slurry and
its removal capability for Zn2+ is comparable to that of chitosan. Even its adsorption
capacity for Pb2+ is significantly more than 30 times higher than that of CAC. In spite of
its inexpensive commercial price (about US$ 0.06/kg in 1994), lignin undoubtedly has
excellent metal-adsorbent binding capacities, which are comparable to that of chitosan.
Moreover, the adsorption capacity of lignin for Pb2+ is the most outstanding compared to
CAC and other low-cost adsorbents such as chitosan, zeolites, or waste slurry. Due to the
reasons mentioned previously, a cost–benefit analysis of using lignin for lead and zinc
removal in wastewater treatment applications needs to be conducted to judge the
economic feasibility of its practical use and the potential for its commercial applications
in the future.

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Conclusions
A wide range of low-cost adsorbents has been studiedworldwide for heavy metal
removal. It is evident from our literature survey that inexpensive and locally available
materials could be used instead of commercial activated carbon.
A few adsorbents that stand out for high adsorption capacities are chitosan (815,
273,250, 222, 75 mg/g of Hg2+, Cr6+, Cd2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+, respectively), zeolites
(175 and 137 mg/g of Pb2+ and Cd2+, respectively), waste slurry (1030, 560, 640 mg/g
of Pb2+, Hg2+, and Cr6+, respectively), and lignin (1865 and 95 mg/g of Pb2+ and Zn2+,
respectively). These adsorbents are efficient and can be effectively used for inorganic
effluent treatment containing metal ions.
Among their current commercial prices, zeolites are undoubtedly the most
inexpensive alternative adsorbents compared to others. It is considered 15 times cheaper
than chitosan (US$ 15.43/kg). It is expected that the price of chitosan will slowly go
down since more industries worldwide may consider using it inwastewater treatment due
to its higher removal efficiencies.
To improve removal efficiencies and adsorption capacities, chemical
modifications of low-cost adsorbents such as coconut shell charcoal needs to be
conducted using coating process. Coconut shell charcoal has low removal efficiencies and
adsorption capacities for metals removal. It is expected that coating coconut shell
charcoal with chitosan may significantly improve its removal performance.
So far, cost information of other adsorbents such as fly ash, coal, ferric oxide, and
waste slurry is seldom reported in any of the publications since the expense of individual
adsorbents varies, depending on the processing required and local availability. This
situation makes a comprehensive comparison among alternative adsorbents difficult to
materialize due to inconsistencies in data presentation.
In spite of the scarcity of consistent cost information, the widespread uses of low-
cost adsorbents in industries for wastewater treatment applications today are strongly
recommended due to their local availability, technical feasibility, engineering
applicability, and cost effectiveness. If low-cost adsorbents such as chitosan, zeolites,
waste slurry, and lignin perform well in removing heavy metals at low cost, they can be
adopted and widely used in industries not only to minimize cost inefficiency, but also
improve profitability. Due to the reasons mentioned previously, a cost–benefit analysis of
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using low-cost adsorbents for heavy metal removal needs to be conducted to judge the
economic feasibility of its practical use in wastewater treatment applications today.
Last but not the least, if the alternative adsorbents mentioned previously are found
highly efficient for heavy metal removal, not only the industries, but the living organisms
and the surrounding environment will be also benefited from the potential toxicity due to
heavy metal. Thus, the use of low-cost adsorbents may contribute to the sustainability of
the surrounding environment. Undoubtedly low-cost adsorbents offer a lot of promising
benefits for commercial purpose in the future.

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